Kwame Kilpatrick corruption trial set to begin Thursday
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Posted: 09/04/2012
DETROIT (WXYZ) - It is one of the biggest public corruption cases to face the city of Detroit is set to begin Thursday—and at the center is the former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
He, his father Bernard Kilpatrick, good friend Bobby Ferguson and former water director Victor Mercado are facing charges of bribery, extortion, and running a criminal enterprise.
The feds say contractors doing business with the city were forced to subcontract with Ferguson, who owns construction and demolition companies. That pressure, say the feds, came from Kilpatrick and Mercado.
Other contractors are alleged to have funneled money to Kilpatrick, his family and Ferguson through three non-profit funds, and were forced to hire Bernard Kilpatrick as a consultant.
The trial is set to begin Thursday, Sept. 6, before U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds. Federal prosecutors are expected to present their case against the four defendants with hundreds of thousands of text messages, wire tap recordings and hundreds of witnesses.
Copyright 2012 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
PRINTMore Detroit Headlines
-
2 kids, 1 adult injured in house fire
An adult and two children were transported to a nearby hospital after a Detroit house fire early Wednesday morning.
-
Henry Ford & Beaumont merger off
The proposed merger of Henry Ford Health System and Beaumont Health System is off.
-
Police searching for missing 20 y.o.
Police are searching for a missing 20-year-old who was last seen at Players Strip Club on 8 Mile and Schoenherr in Detroit.
